No. 8 UC Irvine Sweeps Hawaii With 13-4 Win

IRVINE, Calif. --- Catcher Francis Larson and second baseman Ryan Fisher had three RBI apiece as eighth-ranked UC Irvine swept Hawaii with a 13-4 win in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday at Anteater Ballpark. The win lifted the Anteaters to 14-1 overall while Hawaii dropped to 7-12.

Larson was 3 for 4 with three RBI while Fisher was 3 for 5 at the plate. Outfielder Sean Madigan was 3 for 3, including a home run with two RBI while outfielder Tony Asaro also homered for UCI while hitting 2 for 5 with two runs batted in. Jeff Cusick drove in a run while going 3 for 5 and Eric Deragisch recorded a pair of RBI on 2 for 3 hitting.

UCI starter Christian Bergman improved to 3-0 after holding Hawaii to a run on four hits while striking out four in five innings. Relievers Matt Dufour and Tom Calahan combined for two scoreless innings. Kyle Necke, picking up for Calahan, surrendered a run on three hits in one inning while closer Eric Pettis yielded two runs on three hits to close out the game in the ninth.

The Anteaters jumped on the board with a five-run first, bringing 11 batters to the plate. Larson belted his second home run of the season, a two-run shot that put UCI ahead at 2-0. Fisher capitalized on a Jeff Cusick triple with a single up the middle and Madigan and Eric Deragisch capped the scoring in the inning with clutch hits.

Fisher came up with the RBI hit again in the second, sending a single through the right side to score Larson, who led off the frame with a base on balls. With the bases loaded, Deragisch was hit by the pitch, pushing Cusick across for a 7-1 lead.

Cusick, who was a home run shy for the cycle, doubled in a run in the third inning and Madigan recorded his first home run of the season to lead off the fourth.

Asaro hit his first home run as an Anteater, sending a Jason Kramer offering over the right-centerfield wall for a two-run home run, highlighting UCI's four-run seventh.

Hawaii was led by Vinnie Catricala and Brandon Haislet, who had two hits apiece. The Rainbows put up single runs in the second and the eighth and scored twice in the ninth on RBI hits from Nick Young and Jonathan Hee.

Nick Rhoades was hit with the loss, falling to 0-2 after giving up six runs on seven hits in an inning of work.